A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a collapsible mobility device for persons with partially paralyzed legs. It is designed specifically to enable persons with limited or failing use of their lower extremities to remain active. The present invention is meant to be an escape from being confined to a wheelchair. The collapsible mobility device of the present invention incorporates numerous features not found in the prior art, most notably the versatility of the device to be used to perform different functions and the extreme compactness of the device in its collapsed configuration, which allows the device to be stored in an overhead bin or under the seat of a commercial aircraft or other common carrier.
B. Description of the Prior Art
Collapsible mobility devices are not new, and are in fact well known in the art. Various shapes and sizes of such devices have been in use for many years. However, for any such device to be of any practical use, the device must be capable of serving a multitude of functions such as a chair, a walker, a cane, a stool, a wheelchair and a luggage cart. In light of today's extremely mobile society, one who has limited use of his/her lower extremities and desires mobility and independence must be able to rely on a single device which can perform all of the above functions, if not more.
One drawback of the current collapsible mobility devices is their limited ability to perform in more than one functional capacity. Many of the collapsible mobility devices in the prior art designed to perform a single function. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,471 shows a collapsible mobility device that is designed to be used only as a walker. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,381 discloses a device that was also designed to perform mainly as a walker and nothing else.
There also exist other collapsible mobility devices in the prior art that, although they are capable of performing more than one function, still prove to be unacceptable for numerous reasons. See for examples, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,866,495, 4,239,248 and 4,643,211. The above three collapsible mobility devices are capable of serving as both a walker and a chair; however, beyond that their use is limited. When the above devices are collapsed, the resulting structure is still too large and/or heavy for easy portability and storage. Hence, anyone attempting to take advantage of any of the above prior art devices would find themselves extremely confined.
Due to the readily apparent drawbacks of the current collapsible mobility devices, a tyical user would be forced to alternate between devices depending on the function required by the user.
For these and other reasons, the collapsible mobility devices of the prior art are not satisfactory. There currently exists a need for a collapsible device having greater flexibility of functional use, being more compact in size and lighter in weight without sacrificing stability, and capable of collapsing to such a size as to be able to be stored in overhead bin or under a seat of a commercial aircraft or other common carrier. Only with such a device can a person with limited or failing use of their lower extremities remain active and truly independent.